Palace’s bid for Millwall midfielder Tim Cahill has hit a dead end following a money row between Simon Jordan and the player’s agent.
The Palace chairman angrily called off the move after refusing to pay a £125,000 fee to sports agency SFX.
"I object to paying that for roughly half an hour’s work when our fans are paying good money to come through the turnstiles," Jordan told The Sun newspaper.
"We offered the player a decent Premiership salary and he seemed very keen to join us. The agent then asked for five per cent on top, which equated to £125,000.
"I told him he doesn’t work for me but for the player and to take the money out of his wages."
Sam Rush, SFX boss, said: "The terms of the deal did not appeal to the player."
The Eagles had a £2m bid for the 24-year-old Aussie accepted last week, and were expected to complete the deal within the next few days.
The collapse of the deal could open the door for Everton or Charlton to snap up the influential midfielder.